Hundreds of people claim they are living in bitter conditions in freezing high rise flats.
Residents say the nine blocks look half-built and the windows protrude with numbers which are written in paint outside fats.
And after more than four years on from the Grenfell fire in London, occupants have yet to see any replacement cladding.
The blocks are can be seen from all over Salford, Manchester, but residents say the real nightmare lies inside their walls..
Lynne Broughton has lived in Thorn Court for 40 years. and only in the last few years she has wanted to leave.
"It's cold, no matter how much you put the heating on it's freezing. I have to put blankets around my legs. I was dreading this Christmas. We have get through another winter," she told Manchester Evening News.
After living in fear for years following Grenfell, the type of flammable cladding which caused the lethal inferno was finally removed from the apartment blocks in Salford in September 2020.
The residents may no longer be living in fear of fire - but now they're living in fear of the cold and the meter.
This is because the building's heating system depends on the cladding to retain heat. Without it, draughts whip through the flats, which have around 700 residents, at a time when the cost of energy is rocketing.
"Before, when I'd switch the heating on, in half-an-hour it would be as warm as toast," Lynne said.
Now, she says as soon as she walks into her flat 'it's like being outside', even though she always puts the heating on.
Lynne's bought thick curtains, keeps her blinds down, and has put bubble wrap below her windows to try and stop the draught.
But the cold isn't the only issue caused by the cladding being removed. Many of the residents have water coming in through their exposed windows too.
"Ours is p***ing with rain and it's freezing," Lynne said of her flat.
"I'd say the majority of the block, I'd say it's the cold and the draughts and the water," she said.
"If there was plenty of houses I think I would have moved out. It's two years down now. We're still in the cold. Who's to say we'll get the cladding later this year?
"They should have never have done what they did.
"If you don't live in these blocks you don't know what it's like. They don't give a s**t, we're the poor people."
Residents had previously been told that the cladding would be replaced by 2022. Pendleton Together has now said that works are set to be complete by 2024 - a whole two years behind schedule.
Not everyone can afford the extra money that's needed to heat their homes.
The Manchester Evening News spoke to one single mum-of-three, who doesn't want to be named, who says she hasn't turned her heating on for 'well over a year'.
She said: "I don't put the heating on at all. I sit in blankets and make the kids wrap up.
"I can't afford it."
She has a newborn baby, a three-year-old and a five-year-old and wants to get out - to a flat with more than two bedrooms - and to somewhere she can afford to heat.
"I'm a single parent, where am I going to get the money to go private?" she said.
Instead, she survives day-by-day by spending as little time in her flat as possible.
She leaves the house at 6am in the morning and makes her way to the warmth of her mum's house and doesn't return until it's time to take her children to bed.
Rachel, who lives at the top of Thorn Court, says she doesn't use her living room anymore, and has to watch TV in bed.
"It's cold like outside. You spend most of your time in your bedroom because it's the warmest place, but I'd like to sit in the living room and chill out.
"It used to be dead warm but now it's freezing cold. You just have to put blankets on and keep the curtains shut and stuff like that," she said.
Hundreds of residents across the nine blocks of flats are taking legal action against Pendleton Together, the Private Finance Initiative contractor which manages the council properties.
They are claiming the properties are 'unfit for human habitation' - mostly down to the cold.
Martin Eithne and Martin Crowson are two of them. The retired couple live in Holm Court and chair the block's residents association.
They say that they were paying £25 a week in electricity bills when the cladding was on. Now, they say they're paying £40.
"It's down to them to pay us back," Eithne said.
Martin says that the biggest issue people are facing in his block is that the electric is 'costing a fortune'.
"If you put your heating on it costs a fortune, around £5 a day extra," he said.
"There's people that stay in bed earlier and get out of bed later because of the cladding.
"They can't put the heat on because they can't afford they can't afford to put the heating on."
Pendleton Together is giving the residents £60 every two months during the winter. But everyone the M.E.N. spoke to said it was not enough.
Robert Vaudrey lives in Holm Court with his wife Pamela and their four-year-old daughter April.
"We moved in with the baby, it was our first home together," he said.
"The biggest problem is the heating. Since the cladding got removed, we're putting in £40 a week."
He says the 'gesture amounts' of money he's been given aren't enough - and 'don't even cover a month's worth'.
"The payments aren't even touching the sides," he said.
We've got a littl'un. Keeping a four-year-old dressed, trying to explain that it's cold, it's just ridiculous."
The heating costs so much that Pamela had the idea of covering the thermostat up with a flannel.
"It's so the computer thinks it's warmer than it is. We've set it to 21 degrees, once it goes below it takes a daft amount of money from us," Robert said.
The heating may be a winter issue - but it affects the family during the summer months as well.
"It costs an awful lots of money, money we save up for during the summer. We have to save up. During the summer we've got no money to spend," Robert said.
Matthew Condrad, the director of Tenant Claim, says that 'all nine of the flats have got the same issues'.
He claims there are around 720 people living in the Pendleton flats - and 270 of them have gone to him for legal help.
He said: "The buildings are fitted with NIBE heating system which operates at a low temperature and relies upon the cladding to retain heat.
"Removal of the cladding has therefore caused excess cold which has been exacerbated by draughts around windows and ventilation ducts.
"The windows do not open properly and constitute a hazard. Some have also fallen out."
Matthew has put forward some test cases from the Pendleton flats - and if successful - others will follow.
But he admits that it's a process that could take years. And he believes that even if he wins the case, Pendleton Together will appeal, as 'there's a lot of money at stake'.
The cladding may even be replaced by the time the cases enter the courtroom.
Lynne from Thorn Court is certainly sceptical. She fears that as she accepted the 'token' amount of money from Pendleton Together her case would fail.
She also points out, that if the case ends up taking five years to settle, lots of the elderly claimants 'will have carked it by
A spokesperson from Pendleton Together said: "Pendleton Together understands that our residents have concerns during the programme of fire safety works and we are working with them to offer support or to direct them towards services that can offer further help.
"As part of this support Pendleton Together Operating Limited (PTOL) is providing fairly calculated winter energy payments that mitigate the difference in electricity consumption. This will mean that no resident is left out of pocket due to this difference. that time'.
"We have received reports of water ingress in some of our properties and we have responded to these. All known issues have been or are being addressed, however residents with any new concerns should contact us immediately or book a repair via our website.
"In relation to the timeframe for replacement of cladding, within days of the tragedy at Grenfell, Pendleton Together and Salford City Council committed to removing all cladding and insulation on our nine blocks and replacing them with safe alternatives.
"Unfortunately, due to well documented issues around clarity of regulation and ability to secure funding, that affects landlords nationwide, the work has taken longer than anticipated.
"All of the cladding has now been removed and necessary preparatory works are taking place prior to the reinstatement of cladding which is expected to start on some of our blocks in the next few months.
"The programme of fire safety works, which includes the replacement of cladding, the installation of sprinklers and heat detectors and other internal mitigation works is set to complete in 2024.
"We are very sorry for the inconvenience and disruption that our residents are feeling.
"We have a dedicated team supporting our residents and keeping them informed and are doing our very best to put things in place to mitigate any disturbance. If any resident has any concerns they should contact their Resident Liaison Officer as soon as possible."
